Welcome to Season 3 of 10/10 GTM: The Podcast for Revenue Leaders!
Our guest for Episode 68 is Abe Smith, Chief of Global Field Sales Operations at Freshworks. Abe built his 30+ sales career working for high-growth B2B SaaS companies.
In this episode, Ross and Abe discuss how to balance the craft, passion, and professionalism of sales execution excellence with a tech-driven future.
Listen to the episode here, and get the key takeaways from our conversation below.
Embracing a New Way of Selling
It’s no secret that AI is disrupting the B2B sales process. With the ability to automate manual tasks and uncover relevant insights in seconds, reps can spend more time on revenue generating activities.
“I firmly believe that as you move upmarket, there are tasks that sales professionals used to do that they simply don't need to do anymore,” says Abe. “For example, we developed a sales bot that analyzes annual reports, summarizes key insights, and crafts personalized emails in minutes — what used to take days or weeks now happens almost instantaneously.”
By integrating AI-driven tools like this, Freshworks sales and revenue leaders are reshaping their sales strategy. As they move away from manual, time-consuming processes and embrace technology that empowers their teams to do more in less time, they’re able to accelerate the entire sales cycle.
“If the goal is to have better customer engagement, tighter relationships, read the room, understand how to negotiate; all the things that are innately human about how we create a sales process, that’s aided and abetted extremely well with AI,” explains Abe. “This means the next generation of individual contributors and sales leaders need to change the way they deliver this experience and develop their teams.”
Merging human insight with AI creates a more efficient way of selling. Companies that embrace it can unlock faster deal closures, forge deeper customer relationships, and secure a competitive edge, while those that resist risk falling behind in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Committing to the Craft
Great sales leadership isn’t just about following a process — it’s about a relentless commitment to excellence. Recognizing and developing talent is only the beginning; continually honing skills is what sets top performers apart.
“Once you know who the right people are to hire, it’s important to think about how you’re going to develop their skills,” says Abe. “There is a level of enablement that’s really important to get people further along and progress. This enablement comes in two distinct ways: first, by engaging in proper programs and processes, and second, by committing to learning the craft and getting one percent better every day.”
Sales professionals can build on their skills by becoming lifelong learners. Whether it’s listening to podcasts on sales strategy and leadership, reading books about negotiation and market trends, or gaining hands-on experience through real-world challenges and mentorship from industry experts, every step propels them forward. This commitment to continuous improvement is the cornerstone of mastering the art of selling.
About Abe
Abe is an award winning tech executive known for building high-growth teams at leading Silicon Valley enterprise cloud companies. He has led global GTM strategies across sales, business development, and channel management, driving expansion in emerging markets in Asia and LATAM.
